Health Information on Firefighter Websites: Structured Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Public Health
• Information Science

Background:

• Firefighters face unique occupational health risks.
• Accessible, tailored online health information can improve firefighter health and work outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the availability and nature of health information on Canadian firefighter websites.
• To evaluate the consistency of resources across websites as an indicator of information diffusion.

Main Methods:

• A Google search in July 2017 identified health resources on Canadian union and employer firefighter websites, plus the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) site.
• Resources were categorized by type, health focus, and location.
• Descriptive statistics summarized the quantity and nature of available information.

Main Results:

• Of 313 websites, 41 contained 128 health resources, primarily on mental health (46.1%), physical health (33.6%), and work health (20.3%).
• Information density varied, with international/national sites having the most resources; Ontario, Québec, and British Columbia hosted 81% of provincial/local resources.
• Mental health topics included general mental health, PTSD, and suicide. Physical health resources focused on cancer. No resources from Northern Canada were found, and musculoskeletal health was absent.

Conclusions:

• Significant variation exists in the quantity and type of health information across firefighter websites, with poor information diffusion.
• Coordination and quality evaluation of online resources are needed to meet firefighters' specific health needs.
• The prevalence of mental health and cancer information aligns with firefighter health issues, but the lack of musculoskeletal health resources is concerning given injury claims.